The Saemangeum International Airport construction project is gaining momentum. The ‘Saemangeum International Airport construction project’, which is establishing a key axis for the transportation and logistics triport, is expected to gain momentum.
This is because the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport reviewed the feasibility of the Saemangeum SOC project and confirmed that there were no problems with the project’s progress.
Accordingly, Jeonbuk Autonomous Province plans to closely cooperate with relevant organizations to expedite various procedures so that the Saemangeum International Airport construction project can proceed without a hitch, with the goal of starting construction in 2025 and opening in 2029.
According to the Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province on the 13th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport recently registered the final report on the feasibility review service for the Saemangeum SOC project, which states that the procedures and methods for promoting the Saemangeum International Airport construction project were promoted appropriately, in the policy research management system ‘Prism’.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, through the Korea Transport Institute, the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, and the Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute, began a feasibility study of the Saemangeum SOC project, including the Saemangeum International Airport, in November of last year and carried out the project for eight months until June of this year.
As a result of the feasibility review, all five review indicators including legality, connectivity, compliance, rationality, and credibility were met, securing the legitimacy of promoting the Saemangeum SOC project.
The Seoul Regional Aviation Administration’s airside construction project, including the runway and apron, is currently underway with the HJ Heavy Industries consortium selected as the qualified bidder for detailed design in June, with the goal of completion within the year.
Korea Airports Corporation is planning to announce a design competition for the landside construction of passenger terminals and parking lots in July and select a design company within the year to begin designing.
When proposing the basic design, the ‘HJ Heavy Industries Consortium’ proposed securing a geometric structure that applies the E-class aircraft standard, which is higher than the C-class aircraft standard in the basic plan, in preparation for future runway expansion.
In addition, in addition to the right-angled taxiways in the basic plan, parallel taxiways and high-speed escape taxiways were installed, and various safety facilities were reinforced to propose a runway operation level* higher than CAT-I in the basic plan, similar to CAT-Ⅱ at Gimhae and Jeju airports.
In addition, proposals were made to install six additional light aircraft and light maintenance aprons in addition to the five aprons in the basic plan, and to install UAM (urban air traffic) vertiport infrastructure.
In particular, by utilizing the dredged soil from Saemangeum Lake as landfill material and deploying two large dredgers simultaneously, the required construction period was shortened from 54 months in the bid announcement to 48 months, securing 6 months of spare time. As a result, if construction begins in early 2025, it is expected that the port will open in 2029 without any problems.
Saemangeum International Airport is expected to contribute to the early revitalization of the Saemangeum region by forming a land-sea-air ‘transportation-logistics tri-port’ in the Saemangeum region along with the port and railroad as an infrastructure to promote private investment in the Saemangeum region, enhance regional economic vitality, improve international accessibility, and strengthen competitiveness as a global business center.
In the meantime, the Jeonbuk Autonomous Province has been actively responding by cooperating with local political circles to normalize the Saemangeum International Airport construction project, continuously explaining and suggesting the necessity of the project to relevant organizations (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Korea Transport Institute, etc.) during the process of reviewing the feasibility of the project and securing the national budget.
The Jeonbuk Autonomous Province plans to continue to work closely with related organizations, including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Seoul Regional Aviation Administration, and Korea Airports Corporation, to ensure swift implementation of administrative procedures and securing the national budget so that the Saemangeum International Airport construction project can begin in 2025 and open in 2029.
Jeonbuk Provincial Construction and Transportation Bureau Director Kim Gwang-su said, “Now that it has been confirmed that there are no issues in the process of promoting the Saemangeum SOC project, including the Saemangeum International Airport construction project, we will focus our capabilities together with the residents of the province so that the international airport can open in 2029.”
Queen Choi Ha Na Reporter
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2024-08-13 19:37:31